Under the hum of flickering lights,
a pen waits, trembling in its duty.
The air smells of paper and polish,
of stories sealed in quiet ink.

A chair creaks—truth takes its seat.
Words march out, hesitant soldiers,
each one carrying a fragment
of what the heart remembers.

The officer nods, steady as stone,
eyes tracing the path of confession.
Outside, sirens bloom like restless flowers,
their petals fading into distance.

When the final line is signed,
silence folds the room in half.
Somewhere between fear...

Dear 2026,
I arrive gently, carrying all that 2025 taught me.
I step forward with softer expectations and braver hope.
I choose patience over rushing, truth over pleasing, rest over proving.
May this year meet me with steadier mornings and kinder nights.
May my work be honest, my heart protected, and my creativity free.
I will listen to my body, honour my boundaries, and trust my quiet voice.
I welcome growth that doesn’t hurt, success that doesn’t cost my peace,
and love that feels safe, mutual, and...

This year did not arrive with fireworks.
It came softly,
in mornings that asked me to wake anyway,
in bus rides where rain blurred the city
and my thoughts followed.
I learned that strength does not always speak.
Sometimes it listens.
Sometimes it stays.
Sometimes it chooses not to explain.
There were days I felt too much
and days I felt not enough.
I carried both.
I learned to place them side by side
without demanding they cancel each other out.
I wrote even when words trembled.
I rested even when guilt...